the process of physiological decline in all systems of the body occurring toward the end of the life course

Pleiotropic Genes

Genes that have more than one effect.

Genes that have different effects at different times in the life cycle.

May help to explain evolutionary reasons for aging, but do not explain the causes of senescence

Mitochondrial Theory

Free radicals produced by mitochondria diminish efficiency of cellular energy production

Ultimately leads to organ failure

Teleomere Hypothesis

Repeated sequences of DNA at end of chromosomes

Get shorter as organisms age

Ultimately, impairs healthy cell division

Effects of Technology on the Brain

Our brains coevolved with technology and language development

Contemporary technological change may

be much more rapid than evolution can keep up with

But, brains may be developmentally

modified by using new technologies

hominins

Colloquial term for members of the tribe Hominini, which includes all bipedal hominoids back to the divergence with African great apes.

Biocultural

Pertaining to the concept that biology makes culture possible and that culture influences biology

Postcranial

Referring to all or part of the skeleton not including the skull. The term originates from the fact that in quadrupeds, the body is in back of the head; the term literally means “behind the head.”

large-bodied hominoids

Those hominoids including the great apes (orangutans, chimpanzees, gorillas) and hominins, as well as all ancestral forms back to the time of divergence from small-bodied hominoids (i.e., the gibbon lineage).

Culture

Nonbiological adaptations to the environment. This includes learned behaviors that can be communicated to others—especially from one generation to the next. Aspects of this capacity have been identified in our closest ape relatives.

Faunal

Referring to animal remains; in archaeology, specifically refers to the fossil (skeletonized) remains of animals.

chronometric

(chronos, meaning “time,” and metric, meaning “measure”) Referring to a dating technique that gives an estimate in actual numbers of years

Artifacts

Objects or materials made or modified for use by hominins. The earliest artifacts tend to be made of stone or occasionally bone

for dating certain archaeological materials that were heated in the past (such as stone tools) and that release stored energy of radioactive decay as light upon reheating.

Mosaic evolution

A pattern of evolution in which the rate of evolution in one functional system varies from that in other systems. For example, in hominin evolution, the dental system, locomotor system, and neurological system (especially the brain) all evolved at markedly different rates.

bipedal locomotion

Walking on two feet. Walking on two legs is the single most distinctive feature of the hominins.

Australopiths

A colloquial name referring to a diverse group of Plio-Pleistocene African hominins. Australopiths are the most abundant and widely distributed of all early hominins and are also the most completely studied

Plio-Pleistocene

Pertaining to the Pliocene and first half of the Pleistocene, a time range of 5–1 mya. For this time period, numerous fossil hominins have been found in Africa.

Acheulian (ash´-oo-lay-en)

Pertaining to a stone tool industry from the Early and Middle Pleistocene; characterized by a large proportion of bifacial tools (flaked on both sides). Acheulian tool kits are common in Africa, Southwest Asia, and western Europe, but they’re thought to be less common elsewhere. Also spelled Acheulean.

Pleistocene The epoch of the

Pleistocene The epoch of the Cenozoic from 1.8 mya until 10,000 ya. Frequently referred to as the Ice Age, this epoch is associated with continental glaciations in northern latitudes.

Late Pleistocene The portion of the Pleistocene epoch beginning 125,000 ya and ending approximately 10,000 ya

Upper Paleolithic A cultural period usually associated

Upper Paleolithic A cultural period usually associated with modern humans, but also found with some Neandertals, and distinguished by technological innovation in various stone tool industries. Best known from western Europe, similar industries are also known from central and eastern Europe and Africa.

Mousterian Pertaining to the

Mousterian Pertaining to the stone tool industry associated with Neandertals and some modern H. sapiens groups; also called Middle Paleolithic. This industry is characterized by a larger proportion of flake tools than is found in Acheulian tool kits.

Aurignacian Pertaining to an

Aurignacian Pertaining to an Upper Paleolithic stone tool industry in Europe beginning at about 40,000 ya

Magdalenian Pertaining to the

the final phase of the Upper Paleolithic stone tool industry in Europe

Burins

Small, chisel-like tools with a pointed end; thought to have been used to engrave bone, antler, ivory, or wood.

Biological determinism

The concept that phenomena, including various aspects of behavior (e.g., intelligence, values, morals) are governed by biological (genetic) factors; the inaccurate association of various behavioral attributes with certain biological traits, such as skin color

Eugenics

The philosophy of “race improvement” through the forced sterilization of members of some groups and increased reproduction among others; an overly simplified, often racist view that’s now discredited.

Polytypic

Referring to species composed of populations that differ in the expression of one or more traits.

Populapolymorphisms

Loci with more than one allele. Polymorphisms can be expressed in the phenotype as the result of gene action (as in ABO), or they can exist solely at the DNA level within noncoding regions.

Slash-and-burn agriculture

A traditional land-clearing practice involving the cutting and burning of trees and vegetation. In many areas, fields are abandoned after a few years and clearing occurs elsewhere.

Lactase persistence

In adults, the continued production of lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose (milk sugar). This allows adults in some human populations to digest fresh milk products. The discontinued production of lactase in adults leads to lactose intolerance and the inability to digest fresh milk.

Population genetics

The study of the frequency of alleles, genotypes, and phenotypes in populations from a microevolutionary perspective.

Gene pool

The total complement of genes shared by the reproductive members of a population

Breeding isolates

Populations that are clearly isolated geographically and/ or socially from other breeding groups

Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

The mathematical relationship expressing— under conditions in which no evolution is occurring—the predicted distribution of alleles in populations; the central theorem of population genetics.

Stress

In a physiological context, any factor that acts to disrupt homeostasis; more precisely, the body’s response to any factor that threatens its ability to maintain homeostasis.

Homeostasis

A condition of balance, or stability, within a biological system, maintained by the interaction of physiological mechanisms that compensate for changes (both external and internal).

Acclimatization

Physiological responses to changes in the environment that occur during an individual’s lifetime. Such responses may be temporary or permanent, depending on the duration of the environmental change and when in the individual’s life it occurs. The capacity for acclimatization may typify an entire population or species, and because it’s under genetic influence, it’s subject to evolutionary factors such as natural selection and genetic drift.

Neural tube

In early embryonic development, the anatomical structure that develops to form the brain and spinal cord.

Spina bifida

A condition in which the arch of one or more vertebrae fails to fuse and form a protective barrier around the spinal cord. This can lead to spinal cord damage and paralysis.

Evaporative cooling

A physiological mechanism that helps prevent the body from overheating. It occurs when perspiration is produced from sweat glands and then evaporates from the surface of the skin.

Vasodilation

Expansion of blood vessels, permitting increased blood flow to the skin. Vasodilation permits warming of the skin and facilitates radiation of warmth as a means of cooling. Vasodilation is an involuntary response to warm temperatures, various drugs, and even emotional states (blushing)

Vasoconstriction

Narrowing of blood vessels to reduce blood flow to the skin. Vasoconstriction is an involuntary response to cold and reduces heat loss at the skin’s surface.

Vectors

Agents that transmit disease from one carrier to another. Mosquitoes are vectors for malaria, just as fleas are vectors for bubonic plague

Endemic

Continuously present in a population

zoonotic (zoh-oh-no´-tic)

Pertaining to a zoonosis (pl., zoonoses), a disease that’s transmitted to humans through contact with nonhuman animals.

Pandemic

An epidemic that spreads through many populations and may affect people worldwide. Examples include HIV/ AIDS and the “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918-1919.

Adolescent growth spurt

The period during adolescence when wellnourished teens typically increase in stature at greater rates than at other times in the life cycle.

Essential amino acids

The 9 (of 22) amino acids that must be obtained from the food we eat because they are not synthesized in the body in sufficient amounts

Epigenome

The instructions that determine how genes are expressed in a cell.

Epigenetics

Changes in phenotype that are not related to changes in underlying DNA and that may result from the interaction between the genotype and the environment.

Endocrine glands

glands responsible for the secretion of hormones into the bloodstream.

Menarche

The first menstruation in girls, usually occurring in the early to mid-teens.

Senescence

Decline in physiological functioning usually associated with aging.

Pleiotropic genes

Genes that have more than one effect; genes that have different effects at different times in the life cycl

There are currently ___ billion humans living on this planet

7 Bilion

Holocene

The most recent epoch of the Cenozoic. Following the Pleistocene, it’s estimated to have begun 10,000 years ago